III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 101 

Expressing the sense of the Senate relating to the March 11, 2011, 

earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2011 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. 

AKAKA, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BAUCUS, 

Mr. BEGICH, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

BLUNT, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts, Mr. 

BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BURR, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, 

Mr. CASEY, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. COATS, Mr. COBURN, Mr. COCHRAN, 

Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. COONS, Mr. CORKER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. 

CRAPO, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. ENZI, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, 

Mrs. HAGAN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. HATCH, Mr. HOEVEN, Mrs. HUTCHISON, 

Mr. INHOFE, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. JOHNSON

of Wisconsin, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. KIRK, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KOHL, Mr. KYL, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LAUTENBERG, 

Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. 

MCCAIN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. MORAN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. PAUL, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. PRYOR, 

Mr. REED, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. RUBIO, 

Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SHELBY, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TESTER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. 

TOOMEY, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. 

VITTER, Mr. WARNER, Mr. WEBB, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WICKER, and 

Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 

and agreed to 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 101 ATS 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate relating to the March 

11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

Whereas at 2:46 pm on March 11, 2011, an earthquake initially reported as measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, the 

strongest recorded in more than 100 years in Japan, occurred near the Tohoku region of Northeast Japan, 81 

miles off the coast from Sendai City; 

Whereas intense shaking could be felt from Tokyo to 

Kamaishi, an arc of roughly 360 miles; 

Whereas the earthquake generated a massive tsunami that 

caused widespread damage to a swath of the northeast 

Japanese coastline and traveled across the Pacific Ocean, 

causing damage to coastal communities as far away as 

the States of Hawaii, Oregon, and California; 

Whereas authorities in Japan confirm at least 2,800 deaths 

from the earthquake and resulting tsunami, a toll that is 

expected to rise as many thousands remain missing as of 

the date of approval of this resolution; 

Whereas approximately 400,000 people have been displaced 

from their homes and are now living in shelters or with 

relatives; 

Whereas within minutes of the earthquake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration alerted emergency 

workers in the States of Hawaii, California, Oregon, 

Washington, and Alaska that a potentially catastrophic 

tsunami was heading toward those States and mobilized 

the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific; 

Whereas the earthquake forced the emergency shutdown of 4 

nuclear power facilities in Japan, representing a signifiVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:49 Mar 14, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR101.ATS SR101

jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 101 ATS 

cant loss of electric generation capacity for Japan and 

necessitating rolling blackouts in portions of Tokyo; 

Whereas the earthquake and the resulting tsunami severely 

damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, 

precipitating a loss of power for cooling systems at that 

facility and necessitating emergency measures to prevent 

serious radiation leakages; 

Whereas emergency management experts at the International 

Atomic Energy Agency, the Department of Energy, and 

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are continuing to 

work with authorities in Japan to address the challenges 

posed by the damage to the Daiichi nuclear facility; 

Whereas international response to the disaster has been swift, 

with search and rescue teams arriving from the United 

States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, 

France, and China, among other countries; 

Whereas the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and its 

support vessels have deployed to the earthquake region to 

participate in search and rescue and relief operations; 

Whereas elements of the III Marine Expeditionary Force 

(MEF), a United States Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), 

and other United States military and civilian personnel 

have deployed to Japan to render aid and help coordinate 

United States relief efforts; 

Whereas January 19, 2011, marked the 51st anniversary of 

the signing of the United States-Japan Treaty of Mutual 

Cooperation and Security, which has played an indispensable role in ensuring the security and prosperity of both 

the United States and Japan, as well as in promoting regional peace and stability; 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 101 ATS 

Whereas the United States-Japan alliance is based upon 

shared values, democratic ideals, free markets, and a mutual respect for human rights, individual liberties, and 

the rule of law; 

Whereas Japan is among the most generous donor nations, 

providing billions of dollars of foreign assistance, including disaster relief, annually to developing countries; and 

Whereas the Self-Defense Forces of Japan have contributed 

broadly to global security missions, including relief operations following the tsunami in Indonesia in 2005, reconstruction in Iraq from 2004 to 2006, and relief assistance following the earthquake in Haiti in 2010: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) mourns the loss of life resulting from the 

3 earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, 

4 2011; 

5 (2) expresses its deepest condolences to the 

6 families of the victims of this tragedy; 

7 (3) expresses its sympathies to the survivors 

8 who are still suffering in the aftermath of this nat9 ural disaster; 

10 (4) commends the government of Japan for its 

11 courageous and professional response to this natural 

12 disaster; 

13 (5) supports the efforts already underway by 

14 the United States Government, relief agencies, and 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 101 ATS 

1 private citizens to assist the government and people 

2 of Japan in their time of need; and 

3 (6) urges the United States and the inter4 national community to provide additional humani5 tarian assistance to aid the survivors and support 

6 reconstruction efforts. 

Æ 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS